In 2004, I bought Hubby a Tivo for Christmas. I wasn't sure if he would like it or not, because he's not one to like paying a monthly fee. But wow, do we love having it. It's the coolest thing ever! Ok, maybe not the coolest, but very helpful.
Basically, Tivo is a Digital Video Recorder or "DVR". The cable and satellite tv companies have come out with their own DVR's. But after having the Dish Network DVR on another TV, we both agree that it's not Tivo...not even close.
With TiVo, not only does it record your shows, it'll record every episode with only one programming. So I don't miss a single episode of Good Eats. I never realized how often it was on. When there's nothing on TV, I just look to see what TiVo recorded! It'll even "learn" what you enjoy (you get to rate shows using the thumbs up/down buttons on the remote control) and will record shows that it thinks you will like. TiVo does get a little confused if more than one person is rating the shows, because Hubby and I have different tastes and it thinks we're one person. This feature can be turned off, however, and we have since done so.
Initially, setting it up was a little tricky and we did have to call tech support. But they were most helpful and we were able to get it going. This is a one-time thing and unless you change your tv source (cable to satellite, or vice versa) then you won't have to do it again. You will need a phone line, however, to do the initial setup. At least that's how it was when we set it up. Things may have changed since many people are ditching their landlines.
When we set it up, you had the option of paying a monthly fee or a flat-rate product lifetime fee. Since we weren't sure if the one time fee was worth it, we went with monthly. Looking back, we've owned it long enough to make the lifetime fee worth it, and these days, it's all that they offer. So what exactly are you paying for?
The subscription fee ensures that your Tivo is updated with all the current information. The Tivo updates itself at least once a day with tv programming information. While the Tivo works without the information, it makes life more difficult. You might as well have a VCR that you have to set up manually, because that is what you'd have to do.
Why do you need the updated programming information? Because you tell Tivo what to record. You like a certain show? Sign up for a Season Pass and it will find out when that show is on and record it. You like a certain actor? Use the Wish List function and it will find everything that actor has been in. In addition, when you sign up, you give them your email address and you will receive the Tivo newsletter, I think about once a month. These newsletters are filled with tips and tricks on how to use your Tivo better. In addition, the Tivo online community is a treasure trove of information. I've referred to it on many an occasion when I was stuck. You can even go online and manage your account and pick shows to record, which is great if you forgot and you're away from home.
So, Tivo's recorded a bunch of shows while you were away or asleep. You go the Now Playing screen and it has a list of every one. You can watch your shows and skip through all the commercials. This is one of the best features. Hubby likes to pause live TV so that he doesn't have to watch the commercials. The process of finding and recording shows is really easy. You don't have to know when it's on, just the name of the show.
If you have a home network, you can hook your Tivo right into it using a network cable or wireless adapter. (I have reviewed the Tivo Wireless G adapter as well). This makes the updates much faster and allows you to download shows onto your PC, among other things.
Now, for the the parts we don't like. After having both digital cable and satellite, we've learned it works much better with digital cable. Also, you can only record one thing at a time, and watch one thing at a time - meaning, you can't record one thing and watch something else at the same time. They have since released a dual tuner which solves this problem. Also, this version of the Tivo is not HD. Though we have and HD tv with HD stations, the Tivo doesn't know how to translate the signal. So, for people that love a good picture, I cannot recommend this particular Tivo. They currently have a HD version as well, and it only works with digital cable. Also, it says 80 hours but that's the absolute limit if you record in "Good" quality, which is the lowest quality setting. The default is "Best" quality and your recording space declines accordingly. I would venture to guess it's about 25 hours, but it's still a lot of tv. In its most basic sense, the Tivo is a big hard drive and you should take care of it like it's a computer. Keep it cool and keep it clean from dust.
As for performance, we have not had any problems due to the Tivo. We've had it for almost 4 years and it has been used continuously. You don't turn it off, it doesn't even have a on/off switch. The power supply fan was making strange noises, but it turned out it needed to be cleaned.
For anyone who loves their TV shows and values their time, we highly recommend the Tivo. While this model may not be right for everyone, it's a great one for the casual tv viewer.
More details
Sound Quality
Good sound quality
Picture Quality
Good quality
Recording Quality
Excellent recording quality
Ease of Use
Very easy
Design & Look
Excellent
Value for Money
Excellent value for money
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